Dragon ball
This article is about the media franchise in general. For other uses, see Dragon Ball (disambiguation). Dragon Ball (Japanese: ドラゴンボール Hepburn: Doragon Bōru), sometimes styled as Dragonball, is a Japanese media franchisecreated by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump''from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters collected into 42 ''tankōbon volumes by its publisher Shueisha. Dragon Ball''was initially inspired by the classical Chinese novel ''Journey to the West, as well as Hong Kong martial arts films. The series follows the adventures of the protagonist, Son Goku, from his childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven orbs known as the Dragon Balls, which summon a wish-granting dragon when gathered. Along his journey, Goku makes several friends and battles a wide variety of villains, many of whom also seek the Dragon Balls. Toriyama's manga was adapted and divided into two anime series produced by Toei Animation: Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, which together were broadcast in Japan from 1986 to 1996. Additionally, the studio has developed 20 animated feature films and three television specials, as well as two anime sequel series titled Dragon Ball GT (1996–1997) and Dragon Ball Super (2015–2018). From 2009 to 2015, a revised version of Dragon Ball Z aired in Japan under the title Dragon Ball Kai, as a recut that follows the manga's story more faithfully by removing most of the material featured exclusively in the anime. Several companies have developed various types of merchandising based on the series leading to a large media franchise that includes films, both animated and live-action, collectible trading card games, numerous action figures, along with several collections of soundtracks and a large number of video games. Dragon Ball is one of the top twenty highest-grossing media franchises of all time, having generated more than $20 billion in total franchise revenue as of 2018.1 Since its release, Dragon Ball has become one of the most successful manga and anime series of all time, with the manga sold in over 40 countries and the anime broadcast in more than 80 countries. The manga's 42 collected tankōbon''volumes have sold over 160 million copies in Japan, and are estimated to have sold more 250–300 million copies worldwide, making it the second best-selling manga series in history, behind only ''One Piece. Reviewers have praised the art, characterization, and humour of the story. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential manga series ever made, with many manga artistsciting Dragon Ball as a source of inspiration for their own now popular works. The anime, particularly Dragon Ball Z, is also highly popular across the world and is considered one of the most influential in boosting the popularity of Japanese animation in Western culture. It has had a considerable impact on global popular culture, referenced by and inspiring numerous artists, athletes, celebrities, filmmakers, musicians and writers across the world. Contents * 1Setting * 2Production * 3Media ** 3.1Manga *** 3.1.1Spin-offs *** 3.1.2Crossovers ** 3.2Anime *** 3.2.1Direct adaptations of manga and Toriyama's plot outlines **** 3.2.1.1''Dragon Ball'' **** 3.2.1.2''Dragon Ball Z'' **** 3.2.1.3''Dragon Ball Super'' *** 3.2.2Anime inspired by the manga **** 3.2.2.1''Dragon Ball GT'' **** 3.2.2.2''Super Dragon Ball Heroes'' *** 3.2.3Other ** 3.3Films *** 3.3.1Anime films *** 3.3.2Live-action film ** 3.4Theme park attractions ** 3.5Video games * 4Merchandise ** 4.1Soundtracks ** 4.2Companion books *** 4.2.1Collectible cards *** 4.2.2Tabletop role-playing game * 5Reception ** 5.1Manga ** 5.2Anime * 6Cultural impact ** 6.1Unofficial live-action films * 7Notes * 8References * 9External links Settingedit The Dragon Ball franchise is set in a multiverse2 composed of twelve1numbered universes, each ruled by a number of benevolent and malevolent deities, respectively called Supreme Kais and Gods of Destruction. Almost all of the Dragon Ball series, except for parts of Dragon Ball Super, takes place in Universe 7. Years in the timeline are called "Ages", with most of the story occurring between Age 749 and Age 790. Universe 7 contains several planets, including a fictionalized Earth, where humans reside, and Planet Vegeta, the home world of the Saiyans, a powerful and destructive race. Many other races also inhabit Universe 7, including Angels, Demons, Androids, Tuffles and Namekians. Humans are among the weakest races in the universe. The protagonist Goku is raised as a human on Earth but finds out that he is actually a Saiyan from Planet Vegeta. Dr. Slump, an earlier manga series by Akira Toriyama, is set in the same multiverse. Productionedit See also: List of Dragon Ball characters and Dragon Ball (manga) § Production Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball Akira Toriyama loosely modeled Dragon Ball on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West;34 but also redeveloped it from his 1983 one-shot manga Dragon Boy.4 He has said that the fighting was influenced from movies by famous martial arts actor Jackie Chan,56 and Hong Kong martial arts films such as Enter the Dragon and Drunken Master,7 as he wanted to create a story with the basic theme of Journey to the West, but with "a little kung fu."8 Since it was serialized in a shōnen magazine, he added the idea of the Dragon Balls to give it a game-like activity of gathering something, without thinking of what the characters would wish for.8 With Goku being Sun Wukong, Bulma as Tang Sanzang, Oolong as Zhu Bajie and Yamcha being Sha Wujing, he originally thought it would last about a year or end once the Dragon Balls were collected.69 Toriyama stated that although the stories are purposefully easy to understand, he specifically aimed Dragon Ball at readers older than those of his previous serial Dr. Slump.10 He also wanted to break from the Western influences common in Dr. Slump, deliberately going for Chinese scenery, referencing Chinese buildings and photographs of China his wife had bought.11 Toriyama wanted to set Dragon Ball in a fictional world largely based on Asia, taking inspiration from several Asian cultures including Japanese, Chinese, South Asian, Central Asian, Arabicand Indonesian cultures.12 The island where the Tenkaichi Budōkai (天下一武道会, lit. "Strongest Under the Heavens Martial Arts Tournament") is held is modeled after Bali (in Indonesia), which he, his wife and assistant visited in mid-1985, and for the area around Bobbidi's spaceship he consulted photos of Africa.11 The Earth of Dragon Ball, as published in Daizenshuu 4: World Guide During the early chapters of the manga Toriyama's editor, Kazuhiko Torishima, commented that Goku looked rather plain, so to combat this he added several characters like Kame-Sen'nin and Kuririn, and created the Tenkaichi Budōkai martial arts tournament to focus the storyline on fighting. It was when the first Tenkaichi Budōkai began that Dragon Ball truly became popular, having recalled the races and tournaments in Dr. Slump.6 Anticipating that readers would expect Goku to win the tournaments, Toriyama had him lose the first two while planning an eventual victory. He said that Muscle Tower in the Red Ribbon Army storyline was inspired by the video game Spartan X, in which enemies tended to appear very fast. He then created Piccolo Daimao as a truly evil villain, and as a result called that arc the most interesting to draw.6 Once Goku and company had become the strongest on Earth, they turned to extraterrestrial opponents including the Saiyans (サイヤ人 Saiya-jin); and Goku himself was retconned from an Earthling to a Saiyan who was sent to Earth as a baby.13 Frieza, who forcibly took over planets to resell them, was created around the time of the Japanese economic bubble and was inspired by real estatespeculators, whom Toriyama called the "worst kind of people."6 Finding the escalating enemies difficult, he created the Ginyu Force to add more balance to the series. When Toriyama created the Super Saiyan (サイヤ人 Sūpā Saiya-jin) transformation during the Frieza arc, he was initially concerned that Goku's facial expressions as a Super Saiyan made him look like a villain, but decided it was acceptable since the transformation was brought about by anger.14 He added time travel next during the Cell arc, but said he had a hard time with it, only thinking of what to do that week and having to discuss it with his second editor Yu Kondo.6 After Cell's death, Toriyama intended for Gohan to replace Goku as the series' protagonist, but felt the character was not suited for the role and changed his mind.6 Going against the normal convention that the strongest characters should be the largest in terms of physical size, he designed many of Dragon Ball's most powerful characters with small statures, including the protagonist, Goku.15Toriyama later explained that he had Goku grow up as a means to make drawing fight scenes easier, even though his first editor Kazuhiko Torishima was initially against it because it was rare to have the main character of a manga series change drastically.16 When including fights in the manga, Toriyama had the characters go to uninhabited locations to avoid difficulties in drawing residents and destroyed buildings.11 Toriyama said that he did not plan the details of the story, resulting in strange occurrences and discrepancies later in the series, including changing the colors of the characters mid-story and few characters having screentone because he found it difficult to use.58917 Since the completion of Dragon Ball, Toriyama has continued to add to its story, mostly background information on its universe, through guidebooks published by Shueisha. During the second half of the series, Toriyama has said that he had become more interested in coming up with the story than actually drawing it, and that the battles became more intense with him simplifying the lines.5 In 2013, he stated that because Dragon Ball is an action manga the most important aspect is the sense of speed, so he did not draw very elaborate, going so far as to suggest one could say that he was not interested in the art.16 He also once said that his goal for the series was to tell an "unconventional and contradictory" story.15 In 2013, commenting on Dragon Ball's global success, Toriyama said, "Frankly, I don't quite understand why it happened. While the manga was being serialized, the only thing I wanted as I kept drawing was to make Japanese boys happy.", "The role of my manga is to be a work of entertainment through and through. I dare say I don't care even if works have left nothing behind, as long as they have entertained their readers."18 Mediaedit Mangaedit Main article: Dragon Ball (manga) Dragon Ball''debuted in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump No. 51, on December 3, 1984. Written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball was serialized in the manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 3, 1984 to June 5, 1995,1920 when Toriyama grew exhausted and felt he needed a break from drawing. The 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha from September 10, 1985 through August 4, 1995.212223 Between December 4, 2002 and April 2, 2004, the chapters were re-released in a collection of 34 kanzenban''volumes, which included a slightly rewritten ending, new covers, and color artwork from its ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''run.2425 The February 2013 issue of ''V Jump, which was released in December 2012, announced that parts of the manga will be fully colored and re-released in 2013.26 Twenty volumes, beginning from chapter 195 and grouped by story arcs, were released between February 4, 2013 and July 4, 2014.2728 Twelve volumes covering the first 194 chapters were published between January 4 and March 4, 2016.2930 A sōshūhen edition that aims to recreate the manga as it was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump with color pages, promotional text, and next chapter previews, was published in eighteen volumes between May 13, 2016 and January 13, 2017.3132 Spin-offsedit Another manga penned by Ōishi, the three-chapter Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock that revolves around Bardock, Goku's father, was published in the monthly magazine V Jump from August and October 2011.33 The final chapter of Toriyama's 2013 manga series Jaco the Galactic Patrolman''revealed that it is set before ''Dragon Ball, with several characters making appearances.34 Jaco's collected volumes contain a bonus Dragon Ball chapter depicting Goku's mother.35 In December 2016, a spin-off manga titled Dragon Ball Side Story: The Case of Being Reincarnated as Yamcha began in Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ digital magazine. Written and illustrated by Dragon Garow Lee, it is about a high school boy who after an accident wakes up in the body of Yamcha in the Dragon Ball''manga.36 Crossoversedit Toriyama also created a short series, ''Neko Majin (1999–2005), that became a self-parody of Dragon Ball.37 In 2006, a crossover between Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo (or Kochikame) and Dragon Ball''by Toriyama and ''Kochikame author Osamu Akimoto appeared in the Super Kochikame (超こち亀 Chō Kochikame) manga.38 That same year, Toriyama teamed up with Eiichiro Oda to create a crossover chapter of Dragon Ball and One Piece titled Cross Epoch.39 Animeedit Main article: List of Dragon Ball anime Direct adaptations of manga and Toriyama's plot outlinesedit Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z are adaptations of the original Dragonball''manga, with various new material added in to make extra episodes so that Toriyama would have more time to write original chapters for them to adapt. ''Dragon Ball Z Kai is a version of the Dragonball Z that removes most of the episodes featuring content that was not part of the original manga. The sequel to the original manga is called Dragon Ball Super, and its story is based on a plot outline by Toriyama, unlike previous anime series Super is released in parallel to (and many times ahead of) the manga of the same name; despite being based on the same outline by Toriyama, there are many slight plot differences between the manga and the anime. Dragon Balledit Main article: Dragon Ball (anime) Further information: List of Dragon Ball episodes Toei Animation produced an anime television series based on the first 194 manga chapters, also titled Dragon Ball. The series premiered in Japan on Fuji Television on February 26, 1986 and ran until April 19, 1989, lasting 153 episodes.4 It is broadcast in 81 countries worldwide.40 Dragon Ball Zedit Main article: Dragon Ball Z Further information: List of Dragon Ball Z episodes Instead of continuing the anime as Dragon Ball, Toei Animation decided to carry on with their adaptation under a new name and asked Akira Toriyama to come up with the title. Dragon Ball Z (ドラゴンボールZ(ゼット) Doragon Bōru Zetto, commonly abbreviated as DBZ) picks up five years after the first series left off and adapts the final 325 chapters of the manga. It premiered in Japan on Fuji Television on April 26, 1989, taking over its predecessor's time slot, and ran for 291 episodes until its conclusion on January 31, 1996.4 Two television specials based on the Z'' series were aired on Fuji TV in Japan. The first, ''The One True Final Battle ~The Z Warrior Who Challenged Frieza -- Son Goku's Father~, renamed Bardock – The Father of Goku by Funimation, was shown on October 17, 1990. The second special, Defiance in the Face of Despair!! The Remaining Super-Warriors: Gohan and Trunks, renamed The History of Trunks by Funimation, is based on a special chapter of the original manga and aired on February 24, 1993. * Dragon Ball Z Kai (Remastered Director's Cut) Main article: List of Dragon Ball Z Kai episodes In February 2009, Dragon Ball Z celebrated its 20th anniversary, with Toei Animation announcing that it would broadcast a re-edited and remastered version under the name Dragon Ball Kai (ドラゴンボール改 Doragon Bōru Kai, lit. "Dragon Ball Revised"). The footage would be re-edited to follow the manga more closely, eliminating scenes and episodes which were not featured in the original manga, resulting in a more faithful adaptation, as well as in a faster-moving, and more focused story.41 The episodes were remastered for HDTV, with rerecording of the vocal tracks by most of the original cast, and featuring updated opening and ending sequences. On April 5, 2009, the series premiered in Japan airing in Fuji TV.4243 Dragon Ball Z Kai reduced the episode count to 159 episodes (167 episodes internationally), from the original footage of 291 episodes. Damaged frames were removed, resulting in some minor shots being remade from scratch in order to fix cropping, and others to address continuity issues.44 The majority of the international versions, including Funimation Entertainment's English dub, are titled Dragon Ball Z Kai.4546 Dragon Ball Superedit Main article: Dragon Ball Super Further information: List of Dragon Ball Super episodes On April 28, 2015, Toei Animation announced Dragon Ball Super (ドラゴンボール超 Doragon Bōru Sūpā), the first all-new Dragon Ball television series to be released in 18 years. It debuted on July 5 and ran as a weekly series at 9:00 am on Fuji TV on Sundays until its series finale on March 25, 2018 after 131 episodes.47 Masako Nozawa reprises her roles as Goku, Gohan, and Goten. Most of the original cast reprise their roles as well.4849 Kouichi Yamadera and Masakazu Morita also reprise their roles, as Beerus and Whis, respectively.49 The story of the anime is set four years after the defeat of Majin Buu, when the Earth has become peaceful once again. Akira Toriyama is credited as the original creator, as well for "original story & character design concepts."50 It is also being adapted into a parallel manga.51 Anime inspired by the mangaedit Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Heroes are not originated from any direct source material from Toriyama, being fully created by their respective animation studios. Dragon Ball GTedit Main article: Dragon Ball GT Further information: List of Dragon Ball GT episodes Dragon Ball GT (ドラゴンボールGT(ジーティー) Doragon Bōru Jī Tī, G(rand) T(ouring)52) premiered on Fuji TV on February 7, 1996 and ran until November 19, 1997 for 64 episodes.4 Unlike the first two anime series, it is not based on Akira Toriyama's original Dragon Ball manga,53 being created by Toei Animation as a sequel to the series or as Toriyama called it, a "grand side story of the original Dragon Ball."52 Toriyama designed the main cast, the spaceship used in the show, the design of three planets, and came up with the title and logo. In addition to this, Toriyama also oversaw production of the series, just as he had for the Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z anime. The television special episode, Goku's Side Story! The Proof of his Courage is the Four-Star Ball, or A Hero's Legacy as Funimation titled it for their dub, aired on March 26, 1997, between episodes 41 and 42, serving as a kind of precursor to the epilogue to the series shown at the end of episode 64. Super Dragon Ball Heroesedit Main article: Super Dragon Ball Heroes (anime) Further information: Dragon Ball Heroes In 2018, an anime to promote the Super Dragon Ball Heroes card and video game series was announced with a July 1 premiere.54 The series' announcement included a brief synopsis: Otheredit The short film Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! was created for the Jump Super Anime Tour,55 which celebrated Weekly Shōnen Jump's40th anniversary, and debuted on September 21, 2008. A short animated adaptation of Naho Ōishi's Bardock spinoff manga, Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock, was shown on December 17–18, 2011 at the Jump Festa 2012 event.56 A two-episode original video animation (OVA) titled Dragon Ball Z Side Story: Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans was created in 1993 as strategy guides for the Famicom video game of the same name.57 A remake titled Dragon Ball: Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans was created as a bonus feature for the PlayStation 3and Xbox 360 video game Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2, which was released on November 11, 2010.58 A two-part hour-long crossover special between Dragon Ball Z, One Piece and Toriko, referred to as Dream 9 Toriko & One Piece & Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special!! aired on April 7, 2013.59 Filmsedit Main article: List of Dragon Ball films Anime filmsedit Twenty animated theatrical films based on the Dragon Ball series have been released in Japan. The three most recent films, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods(2013), Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' (2015) and Dragon Ball Super: Broly(2018), were produced as full-length feature films and were given stand-alone theatrical releases in Japan (as well as limited theatrical releases in the U.S.). They're also the first movies to have original creator Akira Toriyama deeply involved in their production; Battle of Gods and Resurrection of 'F' were remade into the first and second arcs of the Dragon Ball Super anime, which told the same stories as the two films in expanded detail.6061 The 1996 feature film, Dragon Ball: The Path to Power, was also a full-length theatrical release with a running time of 80 minutes, and was produced to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the anime as a re-imagining of the first few arcs of the series. All previous films were below feature length (around 45–60 minutes each), making them only slightly longer than an episode of the TV series; this is due to them being originally shown as back-to-back presentations alongside other Toei film productions. These films are also mostly alternate re-tellings of certain story arcs (like The Path to Power), or extra side-stories that do not correlate with the continuity of the series. The first three films, along with The Path to Power, are based on the original Dragon Ball anime series. The remaining thirteen older films are based on Dragon Ball Z. The first five films were shown at the Toei Manga Festival (東映まんがまつり Tōei Manga Matsuri), while the sixth through seventeenth films were shown at the Toei Anime Fair (東映アニメフェア Toei Anime Fea). Live-action filmedit An American live-action film titled Dragonball Evolution was produced by 20th Century Fox after it acquired the feature film rights to the Dragon Ball franchise in March 2002. Previous to the film, two unofficial live-action films had been produced decades prior.6263 The film was directed by James Wong and produced by Stephen Chow, it was released in the United States on April 10, 2009.6364 The film was meant to lead into sequels,6566 which were cancelled, after the film released and became universally heralded as one of the worst adaptations of all time, being considered by the fans as being unfaithful to the source material.67 Franchise creator Akira Toriyama also criticized the film adding he was completely left out of the creative process, despite having himself offered to help, going as far as saying: "the result was a movie, I couldn't even call Dragon Ball".68 Years after its release, the writer of the film, Ben Ramsey, released a public apology in which he admitted to have written the film "chasing for a payday" instead of "as a fan of the franchise".6970 With the news of 20th Century Fox selling itself, its assets; which include the film rights to the Dragonball franchise, will now be owned by its purchaser, The Walt Disney Company.71 Theme park attractionsedit "Dragon Ball Z: The Real 4D" debuted at Universal Studios Japan in the summer of 2016. It features a battle between Goku and Frieza. Unlike most Dragon Ball''animation, the attraction is animated with CGI. A second attraction titled "Dragon Ball Z: The Real 4-D at Super Tenkaichi Budokai" debuted at Universal Studios Japan in the summer of 2017, which featured a battle between the heroes and Broly. Video gamesedit See also: List of Dragon Ball video games A ''Dragon Ball Z''arcade conversion kit that includes the PCB, instructions and operator's manual The ''Dragon Ball franchise has spawned multiple video games across various genres and platforms. Earlier games of the series included a system of card battling and were released for the Famicom following the storyline of the series.72 Starting with the Super Famicom and Mega Drive, most of the games were from the fighting genre or RPG (Role Playing Game), such as the Super Butoden''series.73 The first ''Dragon Ball game to be released in the United States was Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout for the PlayStation in 1997.74 For the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable games the characters were redone in 3D cel-shadedgraphics. These games included the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai series and the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series.7576 Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit was the first game of the franchise developed for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.77Dragon Ball Xenoverse was the first game of the franchise developed for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.7879 A massively multiplayer online role-playing game called Dragon Ball Online was available in Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan until the servers were shut down in 2013.80 A few years later fans started recreating the game. Today, "Dragon Ball Online Global" is a new, European version of Dragon Ball Online and it is being developed, while open beta server is running.81 Merchandiseedit Soundtracksedit See also: List of Dragon Ball soundtracks Myriad soundtracks were released in the anime, movies and the games. The music for the first two anime Dragon Ball and Z'' and its films was composed by Shunsuke Kikuchi, while the music from ''GT was composed by Akihito Tokunaga and the music from Kai was composed by Kenji Yamamoto and Norihito Sumitomo. For the first anime, the soundtracks released were Dragon Ball: Music Collection in 1985 and Dragon Ball: Complete Song Collection in 1991, although they were reissued in 2007 and 2003, respectively.82 For the second anime, the soundtrack series released were Dragon Ball Z Hit Song Collection Series. It was produced and released by Columbia Records of Japan from July 21, 1989 to March 20, 1996 the show's entire lifespan. On September 20, 2006 Columbia re-released the Hit Song Collection on their Animex 1300 series.8384Other CDs released are compilations, video games and films soundtracks as well as music from the English versions.85 Companion booksedit Cover of Dragon Ball: The Complete Illustrations There have been numerous companion books to the Dragon Ball franchise. Chief among these are the Daizenshuu (大全集)series, comprising seven hardback main volumes and three supplemental softcover volumes, covering the manga and the first two anime series and their theatrical films. The first of these, Dragon Ball: The Complete Illustrations (Daizenshuu''volume 1), first published in Japan in 1995, is the only one that was released in English, being printed in 2008 by Viz Media.86 It contains all 264 colored illustrations Akira Toriyama drew for the ''Weekly Shōnen Jump magazines' covers, bonus giveaways and specials, and all the covers for the 42 tankōbon. It also includes an interview with Toriyama on his work process. The remainder have never been released in English, and all are now out of print in Japan. From February 4 to May 9, 2013, condensed versions of the Daizenshuu with some updated information were released as the four-volume Chōzenshū (超全集) series.26 For Dragon Ball GT, the Dragon Ball GT Perfect Files were released in May and December 1997 by Shueisha's Jump Comics Selection imprint. They include series information, illustration galleries, behind-the-scenes information, and more. They were out of print for many years, but were re-released in April 2006 (accompanying the Japanese DVD release of Dragon Ball GT) and this edition is still in print.8788 Coinciding with the 34-volume kanzenban re-release of the manga, and the release of the entire series on DVD for the first time in Japan, four new guidebooks were released in 2003 and 2004. Dragon Ball Landmark and Dragon Ball Forever cover the manga, using volume numbers for story points that reference the kanzenban release,8990 while Dragon Ball: Tenkaichi Densetsu (ドラゴンボール 天下一伝説) and Dragon Ball Z: Son Goku Densetsu(ドラゴンボールZ 孫悟空伝説) cover the Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z anime, respectively.9192 Much of the material in these books is reused from the earlier Daizenshuu volumes, but they include new textual material including substantial interviews with the creator, cast and production staff of the series. Son Goku Densetsu in particular showcases previously-unpublished design sketches of Goku's father Bardock, drawn by character designer Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru prior to creator Akira Toriyama's revisions that resulted in the final version. Following the release of Dragon Ball Kai in Japan, four new guidebooks were released: the two-volume Dragon Ball: Super Exciting Guide (ドラゴンボール 超エキサイティングガイド) in 2009, covering the manga,9394 and two-volume Dragon Ball: Extreme Battle Collection (ドラゴンボール　極限バトルコレクション) in 2010, covering the anime series.9596 Despite the TV series airing during this time being Kai, the Extreme Battle Collection books reference the earlier Z'' series in content and episode numbers. These books also include new question-and-answer sessions with Akira Toriyama, revealing a few new details about the world and characters of the series. 2010 also saw the release of a new artbook, ''Dragon Ball: Anime Illustrations Guide - The Golden Warrior (ドラゴンボール アニメイラスト集 「黄金の戦士」); a sort of anime-counterpart to the manga-oriented Complete Illustrations, it showcases anime-original illustrations and includes interviews with the three principal character designers for the anime. Each of the Japanese "Dragon Box" DVD releases of the series and movies, which were released from 2003 to 2006, as well as the Blu-ray boxed sets of Dragon Ball Kai, released 2009 to 2011, come with a Dragon Book guide that contains details about the content therein. Each also contains a new interview with a member of the cast or staff of the series. These books have been reproduced textually for Funimation's release of the Dragon Ball Z Dragon Box sets from 2009 to 2011. Collectible cardsedit See also: Dragon Ball Collectible Card Game Collectible cards based on the Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT''series have been released by Bandai. These cards feature various scenes from the manga and anime stills, plus exclusive artwork from all three series. Bandai released the first set in the United States in July 2008.97 Tabletop role-playing gameedit * ''Dragon Ball Z: The Anime Adventure Game, a tabletop role-playing gameproduced by R. Talsorian Games.9899 Receptionedit Mangaedit Further information: Dragon Ball (manga) § Reception See also: Weekly Shōnen Jump § Circulation figures Dragon Ball is one of the most popular manga series of all time, and it continues to enjoy high readership today. Dragon Ball is credited as one of the main reasons manga circulation was at its highest between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s.128129 During Dragon Ball's initial run in Weekly Shōnen Jump, the manga magazine reached an average circulation of 6.53 million weekly sales, the highest in its history.128130129 During Dragon Ball's serialisation between 1984 and 1995, Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine had a total circulation of over 2.9 billion copies,131g with those issues generating an estimated ¥554 billion($6.9 billion) in sales revenue.g Dragon Ball also sold a record number of collected tankōbon volumes for its time. By 2000, more than 126 million tankōbon copies had been sold in Japan alone.132 It sold over 150 million copies in Japan by 2008, making it the best-selling manga ever at the time.133 By 2012, its sales in Japan had grown to pass 156 million, making it the second best-selling Weekly Shōnen Jump manga of all time, behind One Piece.134 Dragon Ball's tankobon volumes sold 159.5 million copies in Japan by February 2014,135 and have sold over 160 million copies in Japan as of 2016.101 The manga is similarly popular overseas, having been translated and released in over 40 countries worldwide.136 Estimates for the total number of tankōbon''volumes sold worldwide range from more than 250 million copies137138101139140141142143144 to more than 300 million copies,1145146147148149 not including unofficial pirated copies; when including pirated copies, an estimated total of over 400 million official and unofficial copies have been sold worldwide.fbc For the 10th anniversary of the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2006, Japanese fans voted ''Dragon Ball the third greatest manga of all time.150 In a survey conducted by Oricon in 2007 among 1,000 people, Son Goku, the main character of the franchise, ranked first place as the "Strongest Manga Character of All Time."151 Goku's journey and his ever-growing strength resulted in the character winning "the admiration of young boys everywhere".3 Manga artists, such as One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda and Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto, have stated that Goku inspired their series' main protagonists as well as series structure.152153 Manga critic Jason Thompson stated in 2011 that "Dragon Ball is by far the most influential shonen manga of the last 30 years, and today, almost every Shonen Jump artist lists it as one of their favorites and lifts from it in various ways."154He says the series "turns from a gag/adventure manga to an nearly-pure fighting manga",154 and its basic formula of "lots of martial arts, lots of training sequences, a few jokes" became the model for other shōnen series, such as Naruto.155 Thompson also called Toriyama's art influential and cited it as a reason for the series' popularity.154 James S. Yadao, author of The Rough Guide to Manga, claims that the first several chapters of Dragon Ball ''"play out much like ''Saiyuki with Dr. Slump-like humour built in" and that Dr. Slump, Toriyama's previous manga, has a clear early influence on the series.156 He feels the series "established its unique identity" after the first occasion when Goku's group disbands and he trains under Kame-sen'nin, when the story develops "a far more action-packed, sinister tone" with "wilder" battles with aerial and spiritual elements and an increased death count, while humor still makes an occasional appearance.156 Yadao claims that an art shift occurs when the characters "lose the rounded, innocent look that he established in Dr. Slump and gain sharper angles that leap off the page with their energy and intensity."157 Animerica felt the series had "worldwide appeal", using dramatic pacing and over-the-top martial arts action to "maintain tension levels and keep a crippler crossface hold on the audience's attention spans".158 In Little Boy: The Art of Japan's Exploding Subculture, Takashi Murakami commented that Dragon Ball's "never-ending cyclical narrative moves forward plausibly, seamlessly, and with great finesse."132 Ridwan Khan from Animefringe.com commented that the manga had a "chubby" art style, but as the series continued the characters got more refined, leaner, and more muscular. Khan prefers the manga over the slow pacing of the anime counterparts.159 Allen Divers of Anime News Networkpraised the story and humor of the manga as being very good at conveying all of the characters' personalities. Divers also called Viz's translation one of the best of all the English editions of the series due to its faithfulness to the original Japanese.160 D. Aviva Rothschild of Rationalmagic.com remarked the first manga volume as "a superior humor title". They praised Goku's innocence and Bulma's insistence as one of the funniest parts of the series.161 The content of the manga has been controversial in the United States. In November 1999, Toys "R" Us removed Viz's Dragon Ball from their stores nationwide when a Dallas parent complained the series had "borderline soft porn" after he bought them for his four-year-old son.162 Commenting on the issue, Susan J. Napier explained it as a difference in culture.162 After the ban, Viz reluctantly began to censor the series to keep wide distribution.163 However, in 2001, after releasing three volumes censored, Viz announced Dragon Ball''would be uncensored and reprinted due to fan reactions.163 In October 2009, Wicomico County Public Schools in Maryland banned the ''Dragon Ball manga from their school district because it "depicts nudity, sexual contact between children and sexual innuendo among adults and children."162 Animeedit See also: List of Dragon Ball anime The anime adaptations have also been very well-received and are better known in the Western world than the manga, with Anime News Network saying, "Few anime series have mainstreamed it the way Dragon Ball Z has. To a certain generation of television consumers its characters are as well known as any in the animated realm, and for many it was the first step into the wilderness of anime fandom."164 In 2000, satellite TV channel Animax together with Brutus, a men's lifestyle magazine, and Tsutaya, Japan's largest video rental chain, conducted a poll among 200,000 fans on the top anime series, with Dragon Ball''coming in fourth.165 TV Asahi conducted two polls in 2005 on the Top 100 Anime, ''Dragon Ball came in second in the nationwide survey conducted with multiple age-groups and in third in the online poll.166167 Dragon Ball is one of the most successful franchises in animation history.168The anime series is broadcast in more than 80 countries worldwide.40 In Japan, the first sixteen anime films up until Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon (1995) sold 50 million tickets and grossed over ¥40 billion ($501 million) at the box office, in addition to selling over 500,000 home video units, by 1996.169170Later DVD releases of the Dragon Ball anime series have topped Japan's sales charts on several occasions.171172 In the United States, the anime series sold over 25 million DVD units by January 2012,173 and has sold more than 30 million DVD and Blu-ray units as of 2017.168 In Latin America, public screenings of the Dragon Ball Super finale in 2018 filled public spaces and stadiums in cities across the region, including stadiums holding tens of thousands of spectators.174 Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network summed up Dragon Ball as "an action-packed tale told with rare humor and something even rarer—a genuine sense of adventure."175 Both Kimlinger and colleague Theron Martin noted Funimation's reputation for drastic alterations of the script, but praised the dub.175176However, some critics and most fans of the Japanese version have been more critical with Funimation's English dub and script of Dragon Ball Z over the years. Jeffrey Harris IGN criticized the voices including how Frieza's appearance combined with the feminine English voice left fans confused about Frieza's gender.177 Carlos Ross of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews considered the series' characters to be different from stereotypical stock characters and noted that they undergo much more development.178 Despite praising Dragon Ball Z for its cast of characters, they criticized it for having long and repetitive fights.179 Dragon Ball Z is well-known, and often criticized, for its long, repetitive, dragged-out fights that span several episodes, with Martin commenting "DBZ practically turned drawing out fights into an art form."180 However, Jason Thompson of io9 explained that this comes from the fact that the anime was being created alongside the manga.181 Dragon Ball Z was listed as the 78th best animated show in IGN's Top 100 Animated Series,182 and was also listed as the 50th greatest cartoon in Wizard magazine's Top 100 Greatest Cartoons list.183 Harris commented that Dragon Ball GT "is downright repellent", mentioning that the material and characters had lost their novelty and fun. He also criticized the GT character designs of Trunks and Vegeta as being goofy.177 Zac Bertschy of Anime News Network also gave negative comments about GT, mentioning that the fights from the series were "a very simple childish exercise" and that many other anime were superior. The plot of Dragon Ball GT has also been criticized for giving a formula that was already used in its predecessors.184 The first episode of Dragon Ball Z Kai earned a viewer ratings percentage of 11.3, ahead of One Piece and behind Crayon Shin-chan.185 Although following episodes had lower ratings, Kai was among the top 10 anime in viewer ratings every week in Japan for most of its run.186187 Cultural impactedit By 2011, the franchise had generated $5 billion in merchandise sales.197 In 2012, the franchise grossed ¥7.67 billion($96.13 million) from licensed merchandise sales in Japan.198Bandai also sold over 2 billion Dragon Ball''Carddass cards in Japan by 1998,199 and over 1 million Dragon Stars figurines in the Americasand Europe as of 2018.200 As of 2018, the mobile game ''Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle has over 250 million players worldwide,201 and Dragon Ball FighterZ is one of the most popular eSports fighting games.174 Dragon Ball is one of the top twenty highest-grossing media franchises of all time, having generated more than $20 billion in total franchise revenue as of 2018.1 Since its debut, Dragon Ball has had a considerable impact on global popular culture.202174 In 2015, the Japan Anniversary Association officially declared May 9 as "Goku Day" (悟空の日 Gokū no Hi); in Japanese, the numbers five and nine can be pronounced as "Go" and "Ku".203 It is similarly influential in international popular culture across other parts of the world.174 Dragon Ball is widely referenced in American popular culture, from television and music to celebrities and athletes, and the show has been celebrated with Goku making an appearance at the 2018 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and with Dragon Ball murals appearing in cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Kansas City and Denver.202 Dragon Ball''is also immensely popular in other regions of the world, such as Latin America, where public screenings of the ''Dragon Ball Super''finale in 2018 filled public spaces and stadiums in cities across the region, including stadiums holding tens of thousands of spectators.174 ''Dragon Ball''creator Akira Toriyama was decorated a ''Chevalier or "Knight" of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in May 2019 for his contributions to the arts, particularly for Dragon Ball which has been credited with popularizing manga in France.204205 Dragon Ball has been cited as inspiration across various different media. Dragon Ball is credited with setting trends for popular shōnen manga and anime since the 1980s, with manga critic Jason Thompson in 2011 calling it "by far the most influential shōnen manga of the last 30 years." Successful shōnen manga authors such as Eiichiro Oda, Masashi Kishimoto, Tite Kubo, Hiro Mashima and Kentaro Yabuki have cited Dragon Ball as an influence on their own now popular works. According to Thompson, "almost every Shonen Jump artist lists it as one of their favorites and lifts from it in various ways."154 The producer of the Tekken video game series, Katsuhiro Harada, said that Dragon Ball was one of the first works to visually depict chi and thereby influenced Tekken and other Japanese games such as Street Fighter.206 Masaaki Ishikawa, art director of the video game Arms, said that its art style was largely influenced by Dragon Ball and Akira.207French video game designer Éric Chahi also cited Dragon Ball as an influence on his 1991 cinematic platformer Another World.208 Ian Jones-Quartey, a producer of the American animated series Steven Universe, is a fan of Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump, and uses Toriyama's vehicle designs as a reference for his own. He also stated that "We're all big Toriyama fans on [Steven Universe], which kind of shows a bit."209 Comic book artist André Lima Araújo cited Dragon Ball, along with several other manga and anime, as a major influence on his work, which includes Marvel comics such as Age of Ultron, Avengers A.I., Spider-Verse and The Inhumans.210 Filipino comic artist Dexter Soy, who has worked on Marvel and DC comics such as Captain America, cited Dragon Ball as a major inspiration.211 Filino-American film storyboard artist Jay Oliva has cited Dragon Ball as a major inspiration on his work, particularly the action scenes of 2013 Superman film Man of Steel, which launched the DC Extended Universe.212 Erik Killmonger's battle armour in the 2018 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Black Panther also bears a resemblance to Vegeta's battle armour,213214 which actor Michael B. Jordan (himself a Dragon Ball''fan) said may have inspired Killmonger's battle armor.215 ''Dragon Ball has been channeled and referenced by numerous musicians. It is popular in the hip hop community, and has been referenced in numerous hip hop songs by rappers and artists such as Chris Brown, Chance the Rapper, Big Sean, Lil Uzi Vert, The Weeknd, Childish Gambino,202 B.o.B, Soulja Boy,216Drake,217 Frank Ocean, and Sese.218 Numerous athletes have also channeled and referenced Dragon Ball, including NBA basketball players such as Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox, Chicago Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen, Golden State Warriors player Jordan Bell, and Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball, American football NFL stars such as Cleveland Browns players Darren Fellsand David Njoku, UFC mixed martial artists such as Ronda Rousey,202 and WWE wrestlers such as The New Day.219220 Additionally, Canadian mixed martial artist Carlos Newton dubbed his fighting style "Dragonball Jiu-Jitsu" in tribute to the series.221 Vegeta's quote "It's Over 9000!" from the Saiyan Saga in the English dub of Dragon Ball Z is a popular internet meme.222 Mark Sammut of TheGamer''notes that Gohan occasionally performs the dab move (as The Great Saiyaman), decades before it became a popular dance move in American popular culture.223Motorola's Freescale DragonBall and DragonBall EZ/VZ microcontroller processors, released in 1995, are named after ''Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, respectively.224 Unofficial live-action filmsedit An unofficial live-action Mandarin Chinese film adaptation of the series, Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins, was released in Taiwan in 1989.4 In December 1990, the unofficial live-action Korean film Dragon Ball: Ssawora Son Goku, Igyeora Son Goku was released. Notesedit # ^''' Tankōbon volume sales of original Dragon Ball manga, not including Dragon Ball Super. # ^ Jump up to:a''' b'' ''c d'' Additionally, more than 100 million unofficial pirated copies are estimated to have been sold in China, as of 2005.112 # ^ Jump up to:''a b'' ''c d'' Additionally, more than 30 million unofficial pirated copies are estimated to have been sold in South Korea, as of 2014.106 # '''^ Tally does not include unofficial pirated copies. When including the over 130 million unofficial pirated copies sold in China and South Korea,bc an estimated total of approximately 250 million official and unofficial copies have been sold overseas. # ^''' 60,000 copies sold annually in Vietnam, as of 2009.127 # ^ Jump up to:''a b'' Tally does not include unofficial pirated copies. When including the over 130 million unofficial pirated copies sold in China and South Korea,bc an estimated total of over 400 million official and unofficial copies have been sold worldwide. # ^ Jump up to:''a b'' See Weekly Shōnen Jump § Circulation figures # '''^ Dragon Ball toys and merchandise are also manufactured and distributed by other companies. Dragon Ball video games were also published by Atari in North America. ; Footnotes # ^''' Originally there were eighteen universes, but six of them were since erased by Zeno, a supreme deity. Referencesedit # ^ Jump up to:''a b'' ''c # ^''' SOS from the Future: A Dark New Enemy Appears!, Funimation dub # ^ Jump up to:a''' b'' # ^ Jump up to:''a b'' ''c d'' ''e f'' # ^ Jump up to:''a b'' ''c # ^ Jump up to:a'' ''b c'' ''d e'' ''f g'' # '''^ # ^ Jump up to:'''''a b'' ''c # ^ Jump up to:a'' ''b # ^''' # ^ Jump up to:a''' b'' ''c # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # ^ Jump up to:a''' b'' # ^ Jump up to:''a b'' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^ Jump up to:'''''a b'' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^ Jump up to:'''''a b'' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # ^ Jump up to:''a b'' # '''^ # ^''' # ^ Jump up to:''a b'' Akira Toriyama message in the Dragon Book included with the Dragon Ball GT Dragon Box DVD set. # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # ^ Jump up to:''a b'' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' Could The Disney/Fox Acquisition Lead To New Live-Action 'Dragon Ball ' Movies and What Could That Look Like? - GWW # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^ Jump up to:'''''a b'' ''c # ^''' Retour sur la conférence de presse autour de Dragon Ball Super # '''^ Un nouveau cycle commence avec Dragon Ball Super # ^''' @Glenat_Manga Twitter officiel # '''^ Ce qu'il faut savoir sur Dragon Ball Super # ^''' 국내 만화책 판매부수 순위 (100만부 이상 Top 26) # '''^ # ^''' AIDE新聞コミケ85カタログ掲載版 # '''^ Edizioni Star Comics: grande attesa per il nuovo Dragon Ball Super # ^''' MANGA CHE HA VENDUTO 12 MILIONI DI COPIE IN ITALIA # '''^ Torna il manga Dragon Ballsuper - Rai News # ^''' 岐路のアジア 第3部・ 漫画「日本発」根付く共通文化 朝日新聞（大阪版）2005年12月6日付朝刊 8面 国際欄 # '''^ 七龙珠之父隐退 漫迷：神龙快留他 # ^''' 正版销量千万册《七龙珠》在华最抢手 # '''^ CARLSEN_Vorschau_ComicManga_HerbstWinter2015 45ページ # ^''' Dragon Ball CARLSEN verlag # '''^ 25 Jahre Manga bei Carlsen # ^''' 九州大学学術情報リポジトリ 香港漫画考 3ページ # '''^ Como desenhar Mangá # ^''' Dragon Ball Full Color Freeza Arc, Vol. 3 # '''^ 在デンマーク日本大使館「デンマークにおける日本マンガ市場」 # ^ Jump up to:a'' ''b A Land of Avid Readers # ^''' suomalaiset manga # '''^ Jeesuksesta tehtiin manga # ^''' ポーランドの漫画事情 # '''^ 英国におけるコンテンツ市場の実態 6ページ # ^ Jump up to:a'' ''b ベトナムにおけるコンテンツ市場の実態 # ^ Jump up to:a'' ''b # ^ Jump up to:a'' ''b # ^''' # '''^ # ^ Jump up to:a'' ''b # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ Images from the book stating 250 Million worldwide sales. See 1 See 2 # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # ^ Jump up to:a''' b'' ''c d'' # '''^ # ^ Jump up to:'''''a b'' Yadao, James S. The Rough Guide to Manga. Penguin Books, October 1, 2009. p. 116. ISBN 1405384239, 9781405384230. Available on Google Books. "Also in evidence is the influence of Dr. Slump, especially in the early chapters, which play out much like Saiyuki with Dr. Slump-like humour built in." # '''^ Yadao, James S. The Rough Guide to Manga. Penguin Books, October 1, 2009. p. 116-117. ISBN 1405384239, 9781405384230. Available on Google Books. # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^ Jump up to:'''''a b'' ''c # ^ Jump up to:a'' ''b # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^ Jump up to:a'' ''b # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # ^ Jump up to:a''' b'' ''c d'' ''e # ^ Jump up to:a'' ''b # ^''' # ^ Jump up to:a''' b'' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # ^ Jump up to:''a b''https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/files/620EFBC88E88BB1EFBC89E8A39CE8B6B3E8B387E69699.pdf # '''^ https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/cgi-bin/releases/index.cgi/file/view/8150?entry_id=5896 # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/cgi-bin/releases/index.cgi/file/view/8162?entry_id=5899 # '''^ # ^''' https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/cgi-bin/releases/index.cgi/file/view/9314?entry_id=6244 # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^ Jump up to:'''''a b'' ''c d # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ Another World Rotoscoping & Interview Eric Chahi on YouTube # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ External linksedit * Dragon Ball portal * Anime and manga portal * Official Dragon Ball website (in Japanese)